Two-year safety and tolerability study of enfuvertide use in salvage therapy of Thai HIV-1 experienced cases.

Objective: To assess safety and tolerability of enfuvirtide, an antiretroviral, in Thai patients with advanced HIV-1 disease who have received antiretroviral treatment and failed on regimens that contain at least one of each antiretroviral (ARV) classes (PIs, NRTIs, and NNRTIs), or who have intolerance to previous antiretroviral regimens.

Material And Method: An open-label non-comparative study of enfuvirtide used in salvage regimens along with the backbone antiretroviral therapy of choice in Thai HIV-1 experienced cases that have been treated with at least one of each available ARV classes.

Results: Twenty-three patients were recruited from five participating centers.

Guidelines for antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1 infected adults and adolescents: the recommendations of the Thai AIDS Society (TAS) 2008.

Background: More than 100,000 patients have been treated, since the implementation of the National Universal Coverage for antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Thailand Although there are several comprehensive guidelines available internationally, there is a need to have guidelines that can be implemented in Thailand.

Material And Method: The guidelines were developed by a panel of 17 members who are the experts on HIV research and/or HIV patient care and appointed without incentive by the Thai AIDS Society (TAS). The recommendations were based on evidences from the published studies and availability of antiretroviral agents.

Body shape and metabolic abnormalities in Thai HIV-infected patients.

Fat and metabolic abnormalities and their associated factors in HIV-infected patients in Thailand were examined. Body fat and fasting lipids (total cholesterol, TC; triglyceride, TG; and HDL-cholesterol, HDL-c) were evaluated in 247 HIV-infected Thais. Body fat was evaluated by subjects and blinded observers, and measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Prevalence of rheumatic disease in HIV infected Thai patients.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of rheumatic diseases in HIV-infected patients at Siriraj Hospital, Thailand.

Material And Method: 178 patients who attended the HIV-Clinic at Siriraj Hospital between November 2002 and February 2003 were examined for the presence of rheumatic diseases. Diagnosis of HIV infection was performed by ELISA and confirmed by partial agglutination testing.

Increased HIV-DNA load in CCR5-negative lymphocytes without viral phenotypic change.

We have previously described a selective increase in HIV-DNA content in CCR5-negative lymphocytes from late stage HIV-infected patients. Here, we show that this increase occurred even in the absence of viral phenotypic switching from CCR5- to CXCR4-tropic. This leads us to hypothesize that early and late CCR5-tropic viruses might be different in the ability to infect CCR5-low or -negative cells.

Studies on the potential use of CD38 expression as a marker for the efficacy of anti-retroviral therapy in HIV-1-infected patients in Thailand.

The monitoring of the efficacy of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is becoming an important issue in the developing world. The current use of CD4 counts, plasma viral loads, and monitoring of drug-resistant viruses are at present either uninformative or costly. Thus, more new cost-effective and practical techniques need to be established and implemented.

Estimated economic losses of hospitalized AIDS patients at Siriraj Hospital from January 2003 to December 2003: time for aggressive voluntary counseling and HIV testing.

This retrospective study was performed to explore the pattern of adult HIV-infected patients admitted to Siriraj Hospital from January 2003 to December 2003 and estimated the economic losses of these patients. Two hundred and forty four medical records were available for review. The proportion of male to female was 2 to 1.

Vaccination against hepatitis B virus: are Thai medical students sufficiently protected?

Medical students are frequently at risk of being infected by hepatitis B virus (HBV) via occupational exposure to infected blood or body fluids. In 2002, the Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital provided screening tests for HBV serology to all medical students for a vaccination campaign against the infection. There were 1,165 medical students tested.

Serological survey of viral hepatitis A, B, and C at Thai Central Region and Bangkok: a population base study.

Hepatitis A, B, and C are important viral hepatitis infections in the Thai population. Hepatitis B vaccination was included in the Thai Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) 10 years ago. In addition, the seroprevalence of hepatitis A has significantly changed in the last two decades.

Safety and efficacy of a simplified fixed-dose combination of stavudine, lamivudine and nevirapine (GPO-VIR) for the treatment of advanced HIV-infected patients: a 24-week study.

Objective: To determine the efficacy and safety of the fixed-dose combination of stavudine (d4T), lamivudine (3TC) and nevirapine (NVP) in the treatment of antiretroviral naive HIV-infected Thai adults.

Patients And Method: An open-label, single arm trial was conducted Baseline clinical assessment and blood test was done on 10, antiretroviral naive HIV-infected patients, who then received a fixed dose combination of d4T, 3TC and NVP (GPO- VIR, Thai Government Pharmaceutical Organization, Bangkok, Thailand). Nevirapine was given as 200 mg once daily for the first 2 weeks.

HIV infection/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome at Siriraj Hospital, 2002: time for secondary prevention.

The authors retrospectively reviewed the medical records of HIV/AIDS patients who were admitted to the medical service, Siriraj Hospital from January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002. Demographics, CD4 lymphocyte counts, discharge diagnoses, the incidence of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), cerebral toxoplasmosis and cryptococcosis in patients who received and did not receive appropriate chemoprophylaxis against those opportunistic infections when indicated, and outcome of the patients were collected. Three hundred medical records of 286 HIV/AIDS patients were available for review.

Intracellular production of type I and type II cytokines during HIV-1 progression in Thai patients.

A type I to type II cytokine switch on cells of the immune system has been suggested as a critical step in the etiology of HIV infection. In this study, type I and type II cytokine production of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells activated by superantigen were investigated in 10 healthy donors and 39 HIV-1 infected patients. Patients were divided into 3 groups based on their CD4 count (< 200, 200-500, > 500 cells/microl).

Infection due to nontuberculous Mycobacterium other than MAC in AIDS patients at Siriraj hospital during 1998-2000: saprophyte vs pathogen.

HIV is a major health problem in Thailand. These patients are vulnerable to opportunistic infections, especially Mycobacterium tuberculosis and MAC infection. However, NTM was considered a rare disease in Thailand before the AIDS era.

Epidemiological correlation between chromium content in gallstones and cholesterol in blood.

The authors measured the chromium in gallstones and bile from patients in three areas (Kawasaki (a city adjacent to Tokyo) in Japan, Chiang Mai and Bangkok in Thailand) by means of neutron activation analysis. The chromium in three types of gallstones (cholesterol, pigment, and rare stones) and bile from patients living in Bangkok were evidently larger than those from patients living in Kawasaki and Chiang Mai. The high chromium intake by Bangkok patients continued from the start of gallstone formation until the time the stones were removed.